Lorna has very kindly written a helpful advice post for the next step after AS levels, applying for Uni and kickstarting your UCAS application!

Things to note when applying for uni:

• Campus or City Uni?
• How far away are you willing to move?
• Which university course should I study?
• Is a sandwich course for you?
• What are your non negotiables?
• Is Uni for you?

• Get started sooner rather than later.

I cannot stress this enough, but since it's now July and the clearing application window is now open I'd suggest getting a wriggle on! 

• Go and look on campus

This is possibly my most important tip, even before you know what course you want to do, go and look at a uni. Not only will it help you decide what kind of campus you want to live on (closed campus or urban) but actually getting a feel for university life will decide whether uni is right for you at all!

• Campus or City Uni?

A campus uni is like a little village, all the buildings are together and it's normally pretty secluded (example. Warwick ). An urban campus is a university in a city with the buildings moulded into the city ( example. Liverpool)

• Deciding your University course

It's important to keep in mind the A levels you are taking just because you're better off having some previous knowledge of the course you're going into. The important thing is that you'll be studying this for 3/4 years so you have to love it, something that you find interesting and that keeps you excited!

• Then go onto UCAS and look at all the available courses

UCAS's website has full listings of all the courses available so go and have a look, think about a double award or something with a language, there are thousands of courses, it's about finding the one that suits you. 

• Decide on how far away from home you want to be

This was a deciding factor for me because I wanted to be close to family but if you aren't worried about distance then this isn't a problem, look into transport, if you're planning to come home once a month being an £80 train ride away probably isn't doable on a student budget.

• Start booking University open days

Book open days, it's important to go to the uni's look around and take photos. So many universities book amazing on paper but I was disappointed by a lot of them so make sure you take a look

• Look at the course material

After all, this is why you're going to university, if the course doesn't interest you then most likely you won't enjoy the experience as a whole, look at all the units and don't settle, there will a course out there for you. 

• Is a sandwich course for you?

For those unfamiliar a sandwich course is when you take a 3 year course but add an additional year between year 2 and 3 to go and work in industry or study abroad. It's something to think about as a lot of the placements are paid and experience is becoming more and more important in the job market. 

• Remember to take loads of notes when you're at the university

It might seem silly and you might be the only one but taking notes during the open day talks is massively helpful when it comes to making your choices, guaranteed with all that studying you're doing (*wink*) you're bound to forget something.

• Sort out your non-negotiables

Now that you've been to the uni's and you've got a pile of prospectus' a foot high you need to start making decisions. The easiest way is to decide some non negotiable, things that are a deal breaker. 

Here's an example.
1. Marketing at Aston
2. Joint honours at Aston
3. Another marketing course at one of the following uni's but must have ensuite accommodation, swimming society etc.
4. apprenticeship or job

That's just an example and doesn't necessarily apply to my own list, but it's just a list of priorities and if you can't get the first one you go down the list until you're happy.

• Don't let anyone rush you making your post-A-Level plans

This is a really important couple months and even though you are going to be surrounded by people already submitting don't panic, just keep calm and take it one step at a time. If it helps I didn't submit until the 11/12/13 ( I swear it the date was a good omen) and I got all 5 offers!

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